Journals of Love for Cancer Patients...

A VERY dear friend of Mine Shirley Nagel has started a WONDERFUL mission she feels she been led to do for collecting Handmade or designed Journals for Cancer Patients....as a way for them to keep record of there journey through this horrible disease that afflicts so many!!! I think this is an AMAZING mission and feel so blessed and honored to be able to contribute to her mission!!!

Here is a journal I designed and created tonight to send to Shirley.......I will be creating more but was so anxious to share and help her get the word out!!!! In the design of this journal I did design and create the flourish on the front of my journal in Inkscape for my Cricut....if you like the FLOURISH you may go to My SVG Page and dowload it for free....
If you would like to contribute to Shirley Nagel's mission of creating Journals of Love for Cancer Patients please email Shirley Nagel at SRcattle@aol.com she would LOVE to hear from you!!!!

I do have some new svg files I've created and will be sharing by this weekend so I do hope you will stop in again and visit with me!!! I pray you all have a very blessed friday!!!

One Swap down....

So I had a Journal Swap I needed to complete in my Yahoo group ARTHaven Creations & Friendships and I wanted to make it special for the person it goes to....I hope I have it right..... I used the flowers I had created and shared previously in posts but I'm also showing the files again here in this post if anyone still would like to have them please feel free to click the image below or the designated area to download them......I created the Journal work in Inkscape....and the background quotation rectangle in SCAL v2......wonderful new additions to this program I must add........


I also used some Tim Holtz grungeboard swirlies....I embossed them with my cuttlebug and embossing sleeves and distress inks....love the way they turned out...I also used the embossing sleeves and distress inks on the flowers as well......the front cover started as a blue wallpaper and I created a muted layer in PSP and printed it onto the wallpaper to give it a bit busy look...I really like the way it turned out......





So I hope the recipient enjoys this journal and it gets put to good use!!!!

Download: HERE

Download: HERE

As always I want to THANK YOU for stopping by to visit with me.......It makes my day when you do....I will be working on some more files later and will post when I get them completed...I hope you are all having a fabulous Sunday.....Please come by again..until next time...

Ok....a 3rd one done....

I've been playing some more and created this third Journal for my ETSY store!!! I wanted to use the three flowers I had made over the weekend so decided what best way to use them then on Journals.......This one isn't my favorite but I think it is nice to look at.......I did use a rubberstamp on the phrase and the black swirleys this time........(I just gotta say I like the look of the Laser Printer more.....) The flower I made this past weekend I wanted to give it more of a glossy look so I took it outside and sprayed 2 coats of Kryon High gloss coating on it....then I sprayed with some Ameretto Mister to give it even a bit more depth.....and wiped excess off with a paper towel...I am happy with the way this turned out......


You'll notice I also used some silk flower petals with rhinestone brads as well for additional accent around the large flower and some artificial leaves in the bronze and off white colors...they have a bit of a pearlized look to them........the contrast is nice....I also used some heart shaped rhinestones above the bow and on the upper right corner of the journal......an edge of wallpaper border trim cut down and a strip of lace.......and of course my large cream wired ribbon wrapped around the journal.....




So this is the latest creation....do you like it??? I'll be getting this one along with the other 2 and a Thank You card I've created and whatever else I can get created posted on my ETSY store by the end of the week.......feels good to be creating ART again......


Ok, that's it for me now....I did ALOT of blog browsing today and viewed some AMAZING ART others have created...I think that is so much fun to just browse everyone's blog....You all are SO talented!!! I would like to THANK YOU for stopping by to visit with me!!! I do hope you will come by again.....I hope you all have a very blessed evening....until next time....

Another Journal.....

I had fun again once I got my mojo going and created another Journal for my ETSY store......the background paper is again wallpaper that I printed the Survivor stamp onto........I'm THRILLED to say I used some of my cut files I had designed and shared a couple weeks ago.....the hinges and the metal looking closure....you can click the links on the names and download the files if you haven't already and want them.......


I also used Deb Carfields GORGEOUS Butterfly Swirl file that I also gave the effect of rusted metal........I think it looks awesome against the cream swirly wallpaper don't you!!!! Deb you did an AMAZING job with this file!!!!! I'm afraid I can't share her creation because it's HER creation....however if you email her at dcarfield@bwtelcom.net she may share the beautiful file with you.....Deb creates some very elegant files as well and I feel so blessed when she shares them with me!!!! Thank you my friend!



The butterflies were shared by someone sometime ago and I apologize I don't remember's who files they were so I'm afraid I can not share them....but the are great cuts I think!!!!!



Ok, that's my creation for tonight.....tomorrow's a new day and I'm exicted I'll be creating once again....It is also my hubby's birthday tomorrow!!!! I want to THANK YOU for stopping by to visit with me!!!! I pray you all have a very blessed Thursday....please come by again...until then....

Finally Something....

Actually made for my Etsy Store.....It's been so long since I've given my ETSY store some tender loving care.....I've got nothing in there right now but promised myself that would be one of my goals this week while I'm on vacation...So here's my first piece.....It's a Journal.....

I'm SO excited on a technique I experimented with tonight.......the background paper you see here with the marbling on it....It's actually Wallpaper........I designed my wording and graphics (dark green leaves & vine) in my Corel PSP and then PRINTED IT ON TO THE WALLPAPER with my Laser Color Printer.......It looks WONDERFUL....has such a wonderful permanent finish to it......After I printed my graphics onto the wallpaper I then layed out a cut file I wanted to cut into the wallpaper for a design....This WONDERFUL border you see down the left edge of the cover is a cut file designed by Paulo Guarmarous it's called "Wildborder.svg" if anyone is interested in the file you can visit his blog by clicking on his name and download it from his amazing site....I WARN you however.....You will absolutely positively fall in love with his ART....He is SO VERY talented!!!!!

Once I cut the design I then carefully removed the cut out and then lined the back with a piece of wallpaper that I had ran through my xyron to put adhesive on it and adhered that sticky side through the cutout and then covered with some bronze color glitter.......It's a nice subtle effect I believe....

I then trimmed the border of the front cover with decorative border ribbon and a bit of lace....wrapped a ribbon around and tied off added rhinestones and the flower I had designed cut and decorated the other day...the file for the flower is in a post earlier this week...just scroll down the page a bit to find it if you care to download the .svg file for it.....



I lined the inside front and inside back with a green decorative wallpaper and the backcover with the same pattern as the front and trimmed the edge with a bit more of the decorative border trim.........




I'm very happy with the design of the layout and look forward to getting it into my store.......

Ok, that's it for me tonight.....I want to thank you for stopping by....I do hope you come again soon.......I hope you all have a very blessed Wednesday!!!!

OH MY....I was SO happy...

To create something OTHER than a scrapbook page for a change!!!!! I am still reveling in the completion of my last project!!! LOL, can you tell??!!!! I needed to work on a 1 on 1 swap I'm doing with a VERY special lady Kanan who will be moving back to her native country India in a very short time.....she had requested that I use the image you see below in a creation somehow as this is a very significate photograph to her culture.....I was honored that she asked me to do this.....I wanted to create something special that she would remember me by....so I decided on a Journal......

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way this turned out and I hope she will too......I took the image she sent me and printed it the size I wanted it....then I scanned it and brought the scanned image into Inkscape and traced the people to create a cut file...actually I did 2 traces...one of both of them and then one of just the baby.......In the pictures below you can see how the baby pops up off the top layer just a wee bit more.......Once I created the cut files I then brought the layers into SCAL and did my cuts.....Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE my Cricut Expression!!! LOL (sorry, just had to put that in there....)

I then knew I wanted to put some type of a frame around the image so I started browsing through my graphics and found the frame I liked but I wanted it to be a cut file so I converted it to black and white saved it as a jpeg then Imported it into Inkscape and converted it to a cut file, saved it then brought it into SCAL to cut it......I used wallpaper to cut the frame so it would have a nice look to it......I then cut 2 more frames of it in off white cardstock to layer behind so it would give the frame more substance.....I used raised dots on the back to bring to the height I needed to accomodate for the depth of the photo....

I then covered the journal with coordinating wallpaper top and bottom layer, inside and outside.....I used a strip of beaded ribbon then some shear ribbon over that tied into a bow......put the journal back together.....then I used glossy accents on the jewels on the headdresses and some of the jewelry to give the picture more of a dimensional look and feel.......Whola!!

I'm so excited over Kanan receiving this and hope she receives it with all the love I've put into it.....I'm sharing the frame I created below if anyone is interested in the file.....It cut BEAUTIFULLY by the way!!!!

Download: HERE

It felt SO good to create and I'm going to be working on some cards today that I owe on swaps I'm late on..........

THEN.....My day got even better when I was given this award by not 1 but 2 VERY SPECIAL LADIES!!! Rita Loyd and Christina Lytle These ladies are what one would truly describe as TRUE friends!!! When you can have disagreements and some very hurtful things be said and then be adult enough to face the issues and be willing to face them and come out on the other end with stronger friendships because of it....that's what a true friend is in my opinion.....So this award to me has a very special meaning to me.........

LEMONADE STAND AWARD!!

Here are the rules for this award.

1. Comment on this blog.
2. Cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog.
3. Nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude.
4. Link to your nominees within your blog post.
5. Comment on their blogs to let them know they received the award.
6. Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation

Ok, now for the wonderful blogs I would like to share with you.......these little stinkers have already snagged a couple of the ones I wanted to share so I shall move to the others that I love!!!

1.) June McFarlane - I love her Mixed Media ART she creates and especially love her sweet personality
2.) Lora Washburn - She creates some wonderful cut files and beautiful scrapbook pages and has a very giving spirt from what I've come to know about her
3.) Wanda Davis - SUCH a sweet sweet lady......I'm so thrilled to have found her friendship and she does beautiful creations for just starting to play with paper!!!
4.) Shelly Wood - SIMPLY GIFTED ARTist.....I've know her along time and she has amazing talent!!
5.) Chrystal Schilling - When you think of handmade paper.....Chrystal is the 1st name that comes to my mind....she is amazingly gifted on making handmade paper and is a wonderful person to boot!!!
6.) Creations by Cheri - I LOVE the fun whimsy of her cards and she does a wonderful job on sketch challenges...and a very sweet lady!!
7.) Angie Hall Haviland - Hummmmmmm there are no words that best describe this WONDERFUL lady!!! I have been blessed to know Angie for MANY years and she is SUCH an inspiration to me with her gift of ART and her loving personality...I SO strive to have my ART Haven to be remotely close to her Studio!!!
8.) Bonnie's Craft Bits - I have met her through some SCAL groups we belong to and she is the sweetest lady and creates some wonderful scrapbook pages......
9.) Ilena - I Scrap Designs - I as well have found her blog through the SCAL groups and love her creations...I visit there often!!!
10.) Erin Bassett - I happened by her blog one day through someone elses and just LOVE her ART.....I visit there often love seeing what she comes up with...

Ok, guess I better stop....I could go on and on there are SO many wonderful blogs out there with wonderful owners behind them!!! To imagine my life with out my computer and blog would be terrible!!! :)

I want to THANK YOU all for taking from your day to stop by and visit with me!!!! I love hearing from you and I hope you will stop by again.....I pray you all have a VERY blessed day...until next time....

The Weekend it Gone!!!

Good Morning Everyone and Happy Monday!!! I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend!! Mine was very nice though I did miss being in my ART Studio most of the weekend!!!

Yep, this weekend was my 25th High School Class Reunion......I cannot believe I've been out of high school that long....but it sure was nice reuniting with all my old friends and classmates from Benjamin Bosse High School Class of '83!!! We had good food and good intermingling!!! The weekend started on Friday night, though we did not make that event....but we did go on Saturday...started at around 6:00 p.m. and ended at 12:30 a.m.....I could tell time was catching up with me as I was missing my pillow...LOL, but I did survive!!!

Sunday was alot more relaxing of a day and I enjoyed a slow pace....I did get caught up on my emails and was able to finally last night begin to play with paper...and continued a bit this morning before coming to work!!! I decided I wanted to try and make a journal to sell in my store www.pennyduncancreations.etsy.com and have been thinking of this idea for awhile so decided to give it a whirl!!!

I used wallpaper, rubber stamps, Stazon Olive Green, Stazon Purple, Stazon Black Inks...and Lace Ribbon....I had alot of fun making this and will do more I believe...Thought I would show you how it turned out...